New Arrivals
![]() Octomore / Edition 09.1 Dialogos. £125.00 Country: Scotland Region: Islay Age: Strength: 59.1%. Summary: COUNTRY/REGION: Scotland/Islay. CATEGORY: Single malt. DISTILLERY: Bruichladdich. BOTTLER: Distillery Bottling. DISTILLED: 2012 BOTTLED: 2018 NUMBER OF BOTTLES: 42000 STRENGTH: 59.1% Vol. Octomore 09.1 questions the fundamentals of superior single malt Scotch. Confident in its five year age statement, our Head Distiller demonstrates how a focus on raw ingredients and considered distillation can definitively debunk the myth that older is better. Distilled in 2012 from 100% Scottish barley, the 09.1 is matured full-term in top-tier ex-American whiskey casks. THE CONTROL: The structural brilliance of the .1 editions are a necessary benchmark for each Octomore series. The vitality of the spirit offers an awakening for those bound by the ideology that older is better. It is a proud statement of what can be achieved when Scottish barley is distilled in tall, narrow necked copper pots, before spending five short years in ‘active’ American oak. OCTOMORE 09.1 διάλογος is: COLOUR: Pale gold. CHARACTER: Refined, sleek, confident in its youth. Older than its years. AROMA: Smoke and oak, intense sweetness from the cask, vanilla, cinder toffee. The smoke is thick, velvety and vegetal, peat and earthy. TASTE: Soft on the palate- no aggression, nutty, fudge, nougat, delicate coconut and rose petal floral. FINISH: Long peat finish, hints of treacle, warm sand/salt. |
![]() Octomore / Edition 09.3 Dialogos. £175.00 Country: Scotland Region: Islay Age: Strength: 62.9%. Summary: COUNTRY/REGION: Scotland/Islay. CATEGORY: Single malt. DISTILLERY: Bruichladdich. BOTTLER: Distillery Bottling. DISTILLED: 2012 BOTTLED: 2018 NUMBER OF BOTTLES: 18000 STRENGTH: 62.9% Vol. Just 52 tonnes of precious Islay barley were malted to produce this single farm Octomore 09.3 edition. Raised in Irene’s Field on Octomore Farm in 2011, this uber-provenance single malt was later distilled and filled into 134 casks. Predominantly second-fill, the gentler influence of the wood allows more of the locally grown barley flavours to cut through the legendary peat smoke. NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION: It has long been part of our inherent values to allow nature to play its rightful role in our whisky. Since the early days of resurrection, our distillery has driven forward one idea, to reconnect the land, its raw materials and the people who gave them life. Deliberately taming the cask influence in this release of Octomore Islay Barley, we are allowed to taste the effect of difficult growing conditions. While little desk research has gone into understanding the flavour profile of a ‘stressed’ barley, it is widely accepted in the wine world that the timing and level of stress placed on grapes will produce a lower yield but a more flavourful fruit. Could this be applicable to whisky too? Hannett describes the symbiosis between nature, grain and cask; “This is the closest we will come to tasting the effects of a low yielding barley that was grown in difficult conditions, from one single field. The individual conditions that come together to create each vintage may never by the same. Part intuition, part natural conditions, the joy of working as we do allows fate to play a hand in the construction and evolution of each release. We express what nature has given us, rather than fighting against it to maintain a level of homogenisation. The lower PPM and the different styles of casks allow the grain to take its rightful place at the centre-point of this release.” OCTOMORE 09.3 διάλογος is: Uber-provenance single malt whisky; one field, one farm, one vintageMalted to 133PPMDistilled from 100% Islay grown Concerto barley, harvested in 2011 from Irene’s Field, Octomore Farm and distilled in 2012Matured entirely on Islay in a combination of ex American whiskey and French wine casksFive aged years in 1st fill ex-American (25%), 3rd fill virgin oak (25%), 2nd fill Rivesaltes (20%), 2nd fill Syrah (20%), 2nd fill bourbon (10%)Bottled unchill-filtered and colouring free at Bruichladdich Distillery, 62.9% alc. / vol.Limited to 18,000 bottles COLOUR: Rusty/Sepia. CHARACTER: Wild, Ileach, if this whisky could speak it would only speak in Gaelic. Atlantic coast raised. Out on the edge, the sense of place is strong. AROMA: Malted barley, Horlicks, the smell of the mash going into the mashtun. Heather wildfire, black tea, golden syrup, lemon sponge. TASTE: Golden syrup in the tin, smoked tea, wort, malted barley, pear, peach melba. Sea spray, heather flowers. FINISH: Smoke, toasted oak, rye bread, salt, ozone. |
![]() Octomore / Ten Years Dialogos. £160.00 Country: Scotland Region: Islay Age: Strength: 59.8%. Summary: COUNTRY/REGION: Scotland/Islay. CATEGORY: Single malt. DISTILLERY: Bruichladdich. BOTTLER: Distillery Bottling. DISTILLED: 2013 BOTTLED: 2019 NUMBER OF BOTTLES: 42000 STRENGTH: 59.8% Vol. Octomore Ten is unleashed once more. Taking a different maturation path than its decade old predecessors, this third edition demonstrates the playfulness of the warehouse master. A patchwork quilt of sorts, many parcels of sophisticated spirit have been knitted together to complete this series’ relentless path of discovery. THE OUTLIER: With the 09.1, 09.2 and 09.3 all distilled in 2012, a comparison of the changing characteristics is logical. Unlike any other in this series however, the Octomore Ten stands alone. This third limited edition of Octomore Ten is everything Octomore should not be. The maturation time is doubled. The maturation profile is as complex as they come. And yet it works. Our Octomore education evolves. Much of this Octomore bottling is an ode to editions past, with spirit released years earlier in 06.2 and 07.4. Now aged further, this weird and winding journey incorporates casks which previously held bourbon, cognac, port or nothing at all (virgin oak). The results of each individual parcel are brought together in an astounding display to become greater than the sum of its parts. OCTOMORE TEN διάλογος is: COLOUR: Tawny. CHARACTER: A dram of depth and worth taking some time to get to know. Greater than the sum of its parts and the parts that combine to make it have an individual story of their own. AROMA: There is a richness, chocolate, tobacco, bonfire smoke, leather. Vanilla custard, blueberry dry straw and pear drops. TASTE: Warming, spicy – mulled wine. Leather and tobacco, malt sugar, icing sugar. All wrapped in earthy peaty smoke. Dry on the palate. FINISH: Oak driven, coconut, tobacco, vanilla, then smoke. In balance the time in the cask has calmed the smoke, both through the phenols lowering naturally over time and the influence of the oak becoming greater. |
![]() Balvenie / Stories 26 Year Old. £625.00 Country: Scotland Region: Speyside Age: Strength: %. Summary: COUNTRY/REGION: Scotland/Speyside. CATEGORY: Single Malt. DISTILLERY: Balvenie. BOTTLER: Distillery Bottling. BOTTLING SERIE: Stories. BOTTLED: 2019 AGE: 26 Year Old. ABV: % Vol. A DAY OF DARK BARLEY The arrival at the distillery of a batch of dark roasted malted barley, more commonly used in the production of stout, marked the beginning of a 26-year long experiment. The result was a pleasing depth – smokiness and oakiness as well as the classic honey, vanilla and citrus flavours. NOSE: Big malty notes, soft brown sugar, vanilla toffee, blossom honey and a mild oaky spiciness. TASTE: Syrupy with a toffee sweetness, some citrusy notes of tangy orange peel, followed by oak vanilla and a touch of cinnamon and ginger spices at the end. FINISH: Enduring gentle waves of vanilla and oak spices. |
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